Monday 29 August 2016

Far-Right Political Correctness: The Hypocriscy of the Alt-Right Exposed

Colin Kaepernick of the San Fransisco 49ers's decision to stay silent during the playing of the American national anthem in a football game elicited strong reactions to say the least.  This was especially true among the alt-right.  That was because Kaepernnick decided to not stand for the national anthem on the basis that there was nothing worth it in his eyes to celebrate about America because of it's racism and "oppression" torwards blacks and other people of color, with a focus torwards police brutality and how cops could get away with dead people in the streets.

As expected, the alt-right's reaction torwards Kaepernick has been totally negative.  NFL fans have taken to burning t-shirts with Kaepernick's number on it, and the far-right has been making statements as to how Kapernick could protest against oppression, but make millions on his contract as a football player(nevermind that he himself accepted that he was privileged with his lifestyle).  The far-right also made complaints about  how football used to be "apolitical" but Kaepernick supposedly "ruined" it by bringing racial justice into the issue.



In regards to the worldviews of the alt-right I can say two things.  Firstly, it is very shallow how people could focus on Kaepernick's protest as their point of rage.  The fact that people get more enraged over this over more series issues like DNC corruption, having the two most derided candidates in US history, a hawkish foreign policy, islamophobia, wealth inequality, oilgarchic governance, drone strikes, the TPP, or police brutality and racism that led to BLM forming as a movement.  It should be noted Kaepernick's protest over the national Anthem was because he felt there was nothing worth celebrating about America right now, saying that America's foreign policy that the armed forces are supposed to be used to "fight for liberty and justice for everyone" has not been providing "freedom and justice, liberty to everybody", leading to the deaths of "many in vain".  He also criticizes both presidential candiates, calling Trump a open racist and calling Hillary out for her email scandal and illegal dealings, as well as her calling blacks "superpreadators".  With this in mind, maybe he is more aware of serious issues to be aware of and has more legitimate reasons to find nothing worth standing up for in the national anthem.

Secondly, the alt-right's whining over Kaepernick demonstrated the hypocrisy of the far-right.  That is because the alt-right complaining about Kaepernick's wealth and lack of nationalist zealotry tends to be the first to complain about "political correctness", “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings.”.  I myself am well aware of this hypocrisy, having been unfriended by an alt-rightist simply because I tried to challenge his claims that Milo should have stayed on twitter despite his obvious abuse of free speech to harass Leslie Jones off of Twitter.  For a group that supposedly believe that colleges are not allowing alternating views to flourish to achieve "safe space quotas" that are blamed for stifiling debate and discussion, they seem to be the first to get "triggered" by anyone that does not support their ultranationalism and devotion to American exceptionalism or want to point out the darker aspects of American history.  And rather than debating back points why their beliefs are supposedly in the right in contrast to more critical examinations of society, they're often the ones to shut off rational debate.  Regardless of what one may feel about "SJWs" or "PC Culture", it is clear that the alt-right only wants to supplement a perceived "left-wing PC culture" with their own far-right slant.

The hypocrisy of the alt-right can also be seen in how they perceive popular culture.  They claim SJWs are forciably inserting feminist or racial justice topics on popular culture, and as such wants to keep popular culture "clean" of any themes that go against their worldviews.  This was what happened with gamergate and the Hugo Awards, which the alt-right tried to hijack to ensure "white men" or "depoliticized material" win the day at the Hugo Awards. It is thus ironic how they claim to desire a "freedom of expression" they think are forciably taken away from them, yet want to limit the power of progressive worldviews in popular culture by obfuscating more progressive literature or creating spaces where no one talks about issues that challenge their ultranationalist and racist worldviews.

Overall, it can be seen that all the claims about "protecting freedom of speech" from political correctness, the alt-right's supposed cultural libertarian attitudes is sham and hypocritical.  Rather, regardless of what one feels about perceived political correctness to advance equity and progressive identity politics, it is clear that the alt-right, in being "triggered" by someone dissenting against the national anthem in their "nationalistic safe space" because he felt there was nothing worth celebrating in American history want it's own spaces to perpetuate hate and far-right politics by shutting off any "critical commentary" about race or gender or social justice that goes against their agenda or any political expression against racism or ultranationalism or American exceptionalism.  Thus rather than representing some sort of "cultural freedom of expression", they themselves have proven to be the antithesis of cultural libertarianism they see in their preceived enemies, regardless of how preceived "SJW culture" may limit challenges to their discourse themselves.   

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